A touch of imagination
by weaselcheater
Summary: "Itachi-chan did you know that our sweet, little Sakura is a writer? She even wrote a couple of stories with you in it. But...I don't think she likes you that much. She already gruesomely killed you two times and I've barely read half the story!" Non-massacre
1. Chapter 1

**A touch of imagination**

To say that Itachi Uchiha was not amused would be an understatement. No. He was, in the right words, pissed off. And he didn't make any effort to hide it either. Following the new orders of the Hokage "Every team must include a medic-ninja." he has selected a skilled medic-nin to join his infamous squad eleven in their future missions. Given his status, he was the first ANBU captain to be able to select the desired person to join his team and he obviously chose what seemed to be the best option.

He requested Haruno Sakura, the very apprentice of the Hokage herself, and whereas the young woman lacked experience in the battle and was not the best fighter of them all, she was a great medic and a very smart and witted kunoichi. He was sure that with the proper training and after a couple of rough missions with his team she will improve greatly and will be able to keep up with them. All he knew was that she was good enough to keep herself alive and, for now, that was all that he needed. They will do the fighting for her and she'll be there to quickly patch them up. It was perfect, he thought bitterly. Anyone would have been honored to be given such an opportunity. _She _should have been honored. He mused as he angrily crumpled in his fist the poor piece of paper.

When he had voiced his decision, the Hokage watched him warily but approved it nonetheless. His teammates also approved of her wholeheartedly. They trusted his decision, knowing that he always sought out the best for the people under his command. She had been properly introduced to the rest of the guys one week after all the formalities and the paperwork had been dealt with and she seemed excited about it! He remembered how eager she was at their first training session and how adamant she was to prove them she was worthy to be fighting with them.

Without a word of complaint she accepted the black and gray ANBU attire and Itachi's order at carefully hiding her pink hair and renouncing at the usual red uniform during any mission with him. While he doesn't care of a person's choice of clothing and hair color he was very strict with a shinobi's appearance during combat. And pink hair was out of the question. It was an easily noticeable, distinctive color and it would put everyone in danger. And that was not something he desired.

They trained together almost daily for a couple of weeks before Sakura joined them in a mission. Whereas he decided that they will do the fighting for her he wanted to make sure that the kunoichi will be able to keep up with their traveling and the rough conditions of their missions without her getting exhausted and not being able to do her job as a medic. He sure didn't want or need to carry dead weight.

Their first mission last month was a surprise even for himself. Sakura was able to keep up with their fast ANBU rhythm of travel and did not say a word when they had to sleep on the rough soil under the bare sky while the mosquitos were circling them. She kept quiet and followed every order that was given to her. When they had to engage fight with the rogue shinobis they had been hunting for information, she did her own share, beating two of them to a bloody pulp and was still able to heal her teammates in the end, accepting their congratulations and words of encouragements with a small, shy smile.

When it was his time to be healed, Itachi shook his head considering that his wounds were not serious enough for the medic to waste any chakra on them. With a little twitch, that didn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha, she promptly turned on her heel and put her mask back over her face. With a nod they took off in a sprint towards Konoha. Even though he didn't say anything, he was impressed.

Since then, they only had two more missions together. Again, everything went smoothly, but this time along Itachi felt a little annoyance creeping in the back of his mind. Their medic behaved too well. She was on par with them when traveling, she always took part in the fight without getting herself killed and, at the end of every fight, she was still able to heal them and carry herself home. She was not the burden he half expected her to be during her first ANBU level missions and under his lead nonetheless. She was doing exactly what was expected of her without a complaint, nothing more, nothing less. In the past he's heard a lot of stories about team 7's missions and he's often seen them in action. So he knew better than to let himself be fooled by this. Something was off with their little cherry blossom. So, being the considerate taichou he took it upon himself to find it out.

For the last few days he had been tailing the Haruno girl, studying her behavior towards her former teammates and sensei noting how she acted a lot more freely than she did with them. Perhaps she found it harder to open up to them? Itachi soon dismissed the thought. Whereas they did not work in a team before, they have known each other since Team 7 had first formed, and, while he wasn't much of a talker and a friendly person, Shisui and Genma would have made it impossible for someone not to warm up towards them. They have even managed to get under his skin for crying out loud! From the information he had gathered she was on call at the hospital for that evening, thus giving him more than enough time to do a little scan of her apartment. He managed to get his cousin's help in the matter under the excuse that they need to know all they can about their fellow kunoichi to make sure that she was the most suitable for the position. His cousin scowled at him in response, reminding him how good the girl did during their training and missions, but followed the Uchiha heir to Sakura's apartment.

She had placed several seals and booby traps at the entrance, the younger man noted with satisfaction. At least she was being precautious. He was sure they'll find a lot more inside. And he was not disappointed at all, he thought as he watched his partner get tangled in a bunch of chakra enhanced ropes. With a muttered curse Shisui freed himself and was off to check her bedroom which also served as a library and study. Itachi activated his Sharingan and took an overall glance at the small apartment.

The narrow hall leading towards the bedroom was full of books and different scrolls. Besides the bookshelves, the only other piece of furniture was a tiny cherry wood table on which rested a couple of scrolls and a vase with five withered daisies. The doctor probably didn't spend a lot of time at her home lately. He opened the bathroom door and scanned the room with his Sharingan. There was no need to invade the girl's privacy so much. If there was anything she wanted hidden she would have surely used a chakra seal and with his eyes he would have sensed it immediately. He noticed a faint shade of green in the cabinets and smirked. A seal, just as he thought. He silently made his way to the cabinet above the sink and opened it.

He raised an eyebrow picking up the small chest. An emergency medical kit, he deduced as he raised the top and lifted the small containers at eye level. Special medical creams infused with her healing chakra, pills and teas all containing the woman's chakra. A very smart move, Itachi thought considering how often medics drive themselves to the bridge of exhaustion not always being able to heal everyone or even themselves. With a twinge of pride for his new teammate, he put the chest back and exited the room that smelled way too girly for his tastes. He knew that women use a lot of cosmetic and beauty products. But seeing a room full of bottles of shampoo, body creams, body washes, perfumes and what not made his head a little dizzy.

He scanned the living room and glanced lazily over the photos adorning on her pale yellow walls. There were some photos of her team 7, where they all smiled cutely at the camera, except maybe Sasuke who was smirking and Kakashi whose face was hidden behind his usual mask, but judging by the creases around his eyes, he too was smiling. There were pictures with the rookie nine and she even had one with Ino since they were little girls. His eyes softened a little. He liked how her short hair blew softly in the wind and how she laughed without a single care in the world. He liked the innocence in their eyes and he felt envious. He had never had the opportunity to be a child. Not with the clans expectations of him.

He sighed and pushed the memories in the back of his mind. He did another chakra scan of the woman's kitchen and sensing no disturbance he left for the bedroom. There was no need to check the kitchen thoroughly. He knew for a fact that Sakura didn't cook. And when she did... she usually had to replace most of the furniture and appliances. Plus, he remembered clearly that Shisui made a bee line for the medic's bedroom and didn't come out yet. He was probably rummaging through the poor girl's drawers checking what kind of lingerie she used. He sighed and pushed the door open. His raven colored eyebrows rose in astonishment. Shisui, his very perverted cousin, was seated at Sakura's desk his eyes glued to a piece of paper which he held tightly in his grasp. His mouth would now and then, take the shape of an "O" as his dark eyes would widen. He threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly.

"Ne, Itachi-chan!" He called after his younger cousin. Chuckling he turned to face the other man and rose to his feet waving the pieces of paper. "Did you know that our dear, little, sweet Sakura-chan is a writer? She even wrote a couple of stories about you." His wide grin turned now into a deep frown. "But, I don't think she likes you that much. She already gruesomely killed you two times and I've barely read half the story." Itachi blinked for a couple of times and quickly snatched the papers from Shisui grasp, putting his right hand on the head of the squirming Uchiha to keep him at a safe distance.

"Oi! Give them back to me! Listen up you little brat!" Itachi ignored Shisui's rambles and threats as he was quite used to them and he kept reading the story, his Sharingan activating itself in anger as he read the very detailed scenes of his deaths. Firstly, Sakura's characters feed him to the sharks during a riot for being an inconsiderate, ice-bitch, lord of the land who never cared or appreciated other people's work and was too self-centered to see how women could easily do a man's job. Then a kind fairy revived him and he was given a second chance to life as a modest merchandiser, only for him to be robbed by bandits not a week after, and then be used as a kunai target practice by said bandits. His lifeless body was unceremoniously thrown off a cliff and left for the ravens to eat. He angrily crumpled the piece of paper in his hand, feeling both infuriated and hurt.

He shoved the papers into Shisui chest and stomped out of the apartment. His cousin watched bewildered his retreating figure and carefully laid the story back in Sakura's desk after he too left. He decided not to follow "the brat", how he often referred to both the brothers, not wanting Itachi to unleash his wrath upon him. With a nod he made his way towards the local tavern to treat himself to some delicious, well deserved serving of saké.

The Uchiha heir was fuming. He just left the young medic's apartment and headed towards the nearest training ground. He needed to blow of some steam. He would have wanted to pummel his cousin to the ground, but apparently the older Uchiha had deserted him. He worked himself to exhaustion making quite a mess from the training ground. Burned tree trunks were scattered all over and the ground itself looked like Tsunade had just had a fit. He took a deep breath and laid on a piece of grass from the margins which seemed to have survived untouched. He closed his eyes and with a somewhat clear mind tried to process today's events. Never once had he felt so much anger and hurt before.

He was always accused of being cold, and merciless with the shinobis under his command so this time, he thought he would do things differently. He wanted to show consideration towards the young kunoichi. He didn't take her easy, he just wanted to offer her some time to adjust to the changes. He never once doubted her skills, he just wanted to polish them enough so she would blend perfectly with his team. He wanted to be nice, and that was his reward. He thought bitterly. He felt his temper rising again. He wasn't used to this, he scoffed. People always liked and respected him, both as a shinobi and as a man. Single women, or even married ones would throw themselves at his feet if he even glanced their way. Sakura's stories were like a hard slap at his ego. And he didn't like it. Not one bit. He will have to change the Haruno's opinion of him. He decided, the wheels in his head turning as he made his way to the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Hello!" He greeted the cashier with a kind smile which made the woman almost faint. "I would like a bouquet of daisies, please."

**A.N. First, I would like to apologise to all of you. I have not written in a while and both my English and writing skills have gone a little rusty. After returning to the site I've sadly noticed that a lot of the writers I used to read have gone MIA or have left this fandom. This saddens me and if you read this, please know that I miss you and it feels strange not having my email inbox full with story uploads. However, I hope that they had been replaced with equally good writers! **

**Thank you for reading my story, feel free to review it and tell me what your thoughts were! :) **

**-weaselcheater**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: So here's the second chapter of my new story. Sorry for the eventual mistakes, I didn't get to proofread it thoroughly. I promise I'll do that as soon as my tired eyes will allow me. I know it's kind of short but oh well. The next one will be longer...probably...**

**Anyway! Please enjoy! :) **

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Light footsteps echoed on the empty streets of Konoha as a young woman made her way home, a light, evening breeze gently caressing her cheeks. She stiffened a yawn as the familiar apartment building came into view. She was glad that, when she moved out of her parents' house, not more than two years ago, she decided to buy an apartment close to the place she worked. After all, she had made a bad habit by working herself to the bridge of exhaustion and the last thing she wanted was to faint on her way home.

It was no surprise that the hospital was always busy but, today it felt as if the whole Konoha population took a solemn oath to get injured. Just a couple of minutes separated her from a nice hot bath and her soft sheets, she thought to herself as she turned the key in the lock. She grasped the doorknob tightly, her eyes narrowing in the process. Maybe her tired mind was playing tricks on her, but she was pretty sure that she activated her door sensor when she left home. That little string of chakra that sent a light tingling to her hands when she would open her apartment door was gone. Someone broke into her home. She gulped and reached for her trusted kunai. She was exhausted but she could still pull a good fight! Or at least make enough noise to alert any nearby shinobi.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, her senses on high alert as she searched for any signs of the intruder. Not finding anything, she closed the door. Maybe her paranoia was kicking in. Switching the lights on, she made her way to the bathroom. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and starred at the fresh daisies sitting innocently in her vase. She blinked a couple of times, wondering if somehow flowers possessed the ability to rejuvenate. She shook her head and lifted the small note from the table.

"_Tomorrow, practice at 6. Training Ground nr 4. P.S. Please enjoy the flowers." _ No signature. Sakura threw the piece of paper carelessly back on the table and entered her bathroom, fully intending on enjoying her steamy shower. Now that she knew it was only one of her teammates who entered her apartment to announce her of the training session, she could finally relax and let her mind drift. She slightly wondered who send her the flowers, but soon dismissed the thought as it gave her a headache. Shisui and Genma were both hopeless flirts and were, most likely, biologically unable of any sweet or romantic gestures. Of that, Sakura was sure. That left her emotionally and socially constipated taichou, Uchiha Itachi. The mere thought of her captain sending her flowers made her break into laugher.

Twenty minutes later, the kunoichi was wrapped in a fluffy towel and rummaging through her lingerie drawer. All she wanted to do was to slip into a pair of comfy undergarments and climb onto her bed. She reached for her pale red panties and pulled them out noticing how something seemed to fall from it. She narrowed her eyes and picked the tiny strand of dark hair. Rage started running through her veins as she scanned it for the owner's chakra residues.

"Shisui...I'm going to fucking castrate you!" she growled maliciously, her eyes darkening with anger. She let out one more fierce, ear-piercing shriek and jumped in bed pulling the covers to her chin. She wasn't in the mood to sleep anymore, but she needed her energy supplies to the fullest if she wanted to beat the Uchiha to a bloody pulp.

"Kuso!" The young medic cursed as she struggled to quickly put her boots and gloves on, falling face first in the process. She begrudgingly rose to her feet and flung the window open. After a couple more profanities, she jumped to the rooftops and sped to the training grounds, hoping that she wasn't too late. Spending so much time with Kakashi had its downsides, like sometimes losing the sense of punctuality. Something that the She-Devil a.k.a. her taichou, surely did not appreciate.

'_**A She-Devil?Really?'**_ Her Inner scoffed at her, ready to tell and show her, through some very vivid images, just how manly said man was. _'Oh come on! Have you seen that guy's hair? It's silkier than mine, and I bet even Ino's! And he wears nail polish for crying out loud!' __**'Touché. But...'**_ Before her Inner could bring any other arguments referring to Itachi's manliness, Sakura kicked her in the guts and sent her flying into the darkest corner of her mind where she would stay hidden. For a while at least. She sighed and pushed a little chakra to her feet. She didn't want to be later than she already was.

Doing a twist in the air that sent her pink hair flying nicely around her face, she landed gracefully in front of her waiting team.

"You are late Haruno-san." Itachi's smooth voice was the first to break the silence and Sakura bowed her head, halfheartedly muttering some apologies. He narrowed his eyes and turned around, watching her reaction over his shoulder.

"I was starting to believe that you have missed my note." Sakura froze, her eyes widening in recognition before narrowing to slits. _'The flowers were from Itachi?'_ The Uchiha starred at her for a couple of seconds, contemplating her petite, trembling body and her twitching eye. She was angry. Not quite the reaction he expected after sending her flowers. He turned and faced her, tilting his head to the side.

"Spar with me Sakura." He said softly, watching her through his long lashes. His deep voice sending chills down her spine. Suddenly it became harder to breathe. The girl cleared her throat trying to ignore how sweet her name sounded coming from his delicious lips. She may secretly loathe the man before her, but even so, she couldn't possibly deny how unbelievably sexy he was. A faint blush colored her cheeks as images from the many times she had seen him shirtless during healing sessions and how soft his skin felt under her light touch played in her mind. She could even add a couple of scenes when his muscular body was pleasantly pressed against hers during sparring. Seeing the display of emotions on her figure, Itachi smirked satisfied.

"Actually...I was thinking of sparring with Shisui-kun. If that is alright." She added uncertainly as she watched him with weary eyes. Itachi's smirk fell as fast as it came, feeling yet another sharp slap to his ego at being so easily rejected.

"As you wish." He replied coldly and gestured for Genma to get into a fighting stance, but keeping his attention to his cousin and the pink haired female. Upon hearing his name, the older Uchiha rose to his feet and nodded his approval.

"Oh my, Sakura-chan, I feel honored to be sparring with you!" he bowed respectfully sending her a playful wink. The woman grinned evilly and cracked her knuckles, her chakra leaking in angry waves around her small, apparently frail body giving her the impression of a blood thirsty demon surfaced from the darkest pits of hell.

"Oh, but the pleasure will all be mine!" she let out a malicious laugh and slammed her fist on the ground.

"Shannaro!"

"Oh shit!" The Sharingan user barely had time to jump before the earth beneath him exploded and an irate Sakura lashed out to him. She punched him in the face and sent his body flying into a near tree, almost shattering it. The poor shinobi pushed himself of the ground and rubbed his sore jaw. 'That's gonna leave a mark.' He thought bitterly.

"What have I done this time?" He asked slowly as he put his dislocated shoulder into place. Bad question, he reprimanded himself as he watched his teammate's face turn dark and with speed that could rival his, she appeared in front of him and shook him violently.

"What have you done this time?! You have the guts to ask?!" She screamed in his ear, deafening him for a moment before she growled and threw him away.

Itachi was just about to launch at Genma, kunai in hand, when he abruptly stopped and flipped backwards, dodging the flying body of his cousin. He raised a curious eyebrow as he watched a fuming Sakura stomping to the landing-place, completely ignoring the other two men, who were now watching them amused.

The older Uchiha hastily gathered himself and in one last. Desperate attempt to save his save his life, activated his Sharingan catching the medic in a genjutsu.

The Uchiha heir smirked expecting the woman to easily see through the deception and pummel his perverted relative to the ground. Judging from her state of anger, she must have found out about Shisui's rummaging through her underwear drawer.

However, insted of dispelling the illusion, the kunoichi stopped dead in her place, her chakra dissipating in thin air. Her face grew pale and she whispered terrified.

"You wouldn't dare..." Shisui chuckled and broke the genjutsu, stepping closer to the frozen woman before him.

"Oh Itachi..." he called out mischievously and watched as Sakura's eyes widen in mortification, before her shoulders slouched in defeat.

"What do you want?" she grumbled under her breath and the man grinned, wincing as a new jolt of pain run through his body with every movement he made.

"A kiss."


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Hello again everyone and so sorry for the long wait! As I've always said it's going to take a while for me to get a chapter up considering I still have work to worry about, and I've recently started working on other projects too. But thank you for all of your support, I'm going to post on my profile every changes that may occur with my stories so feel free to check it out and P.M. me if you have any questions, but I warn you! I don't check my email very often...Gomen... **

**Anyway, enjoy the latest chapter of "A touch of imagination", as always feel free to review it and tell me your thoughts. :) **

**P.S. I've only spell checked this chapter. I'll come back in a day or two and proofread it carefully. Thank you for your understanding!**

* * *

"_What do you want?" she grumbled under her breath and the man grinned, wincing as a new jolt of pain run through his body with every movement he made._

"_A kiss."_

Sakura stared blankly at him for a few moments, her mouth opening and closing, giving her the appearance of a gaping fish. She sighed and crossed her hands over her chest, involuntarily bringing the attention of the three men to her breasts.

"Fine. But I'm not healing you." She smirked seeing Shisui's satisfied face fall and how he childishly pouted.

"But Sakura-chan, it hurts!"

"Of course it does Shisui. Were you not aware that Ibiki-san sometimes requests me to take part in interrogations? You learn an awfully large amount of information back there." She smiled sweetly taking a few steps forward, stopping at only a couple of inches in front of the man. She tilted her head to the side, one hand griping softly at his neck, as she rose to her tiptoes getting their mouths closer.

"So Shisui..." She whispered, her warm breath fanning on his face. "How is it going to be?" The man gulped, his colour draining from his face. He sent a quick glance at his younger cousin whose chakra was running wild, his Sharingan burning with a hot desire to kill.

"Ano...Sakura-chan...I was just playing you know..." He whimpered as the pressure on his neck increased and Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"It's alright darling. You'll get what you asked for." Without waiting a response she crushed her lips to his kissing him with passion. Shisui's eyes widen in mortification and forcefully broke the kiss just in time to dodge a bunch of tagged kunais aimed directly at his head. And crotch. The kunais embedded themselves in a nearby tree sending it to shreds in a powerful explosion.

"What the hell Itachi?!" Shisui yelled at his cousin, cleaning the small debris and ash from his clothes and hair. "You could have killed me!" Itachi merely raised an eyebrow as he swiftly turned around and started walking.

"Sorry. My hand slipped." He said darkly as his form disappeared in a pack of crows. Shisui glanced around just in time to see the arrogant smirk on Sakura's face before she too vanished in a puff of smoke. He scoffed. Of course she felt the killing intent radiating from Itachi, you had to be a complete idiot not to notice it. And the clever kunoichi took advantage of the situation and maneuvered it to her liking. Those two are more alike than they know. And with that thought in mind he flicked out of the field leaving a stunned Genma behind who was trying his hardest to comprehend what in the world just happened there.

A couple of hours later found Sakura sitting on the small stools of Ichiraku Ramen happily slurping her noodles surrounded by her old teammates also known as her surrogate family. They made a point of always having lunch together when they were in the village and were not assigned to any duties. They didn't even have to say a word to make her feel better. Just their presence was enough to bring her peace. It was always like this with them. She put her bowl down and smiled, her eyes filled with love as she watched them.

Both Naruto and Sasuke have grown into beautiful young men, leaving behind their childish rivalry...well at least sometimes. They have become very powerful shinobi, ready to serve and protect their village with the cost of their lives.

Naruto had fallen out of his crush on Sakura and was now discovering happiness with Hinata and was even planning on proposing to her. He was just gathering up the courage the face her father, and Neji, and the rest of the Hyuga clan...Witch was not an easy task at all, but they have all sworn to aid him shall need ever arise!

On the other side, Sasuke was still trying his hardest to forget about the foolish one-sided competition he had with his older brother. A good, old ninja-style spanking was enough to convince the black-haired brat that pursuing power at Orochimaru's was not a good idea and that he had to stay in the village and work his butt off together with the rest of them to prove everyone how bad-ass they were, as Naruto would put it.

As for Kakashi, well he was being the same old perverted sensei they've known and loved since their gening days. Just slightly older, not that you could really tell with most of his body and face covered.

Sakura chuckled and shook her hair. She too had changed a lot since she was a genin. And she had Tsunade to thank for everything. If it wasn't for her shishou's special training and unorthodox methods, she would still be a dead weight on the battlefield. She worked her way through medical ninjutsu and bruised her body in sparring with Lee to improve her taijutsu skills. Being the Hokage's apprentice also had its benefits. Because of the trust that came with the title she got sent on a lot of missions and she learned how to use her brain for more than storing information. She learned how to cleverly make use of everything she knew, which was rather useful for her medical ninjutsu, she thought as she remembered all the special healing pills and creams that she had offered her teammates for when she was not around to fix them. They turned out to be real life saviours.

"Sakura, on my way here, I had to stop at the Interrogation Unit to drop some documents from the Hokage, and Ibiki's apprentice was crying his eyes out, hidden under his desk. Do you have any idea way?" All eyes then turned to Sakura who watched them with innocent eyes.

"Why would I know anything Sasuke-kun?" She asked sweetly sending him a warning smile. Sasuke sighed and rested his head on his right palm.

"Sakura we all know that he was your assigned therapist. Your third one." Said girl scoffed and crossed her arms over chest in defiance, glaring at the three pairs of disapproving eyes.

"It's not my fault! I just did what he asked me to. It took him five sessions to break down. He sure was a tough cookie." She chuckled darkly causing everyone around her to sweat drop.

"Sakura, you know it's for the best." Kakashi tried to reason with the stubborn girl, but all of his words fell on deaf ears.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know the story by heart Kakashi-sensei. The council of Konoha came to the conclusion that I had anger management problems and that I should be requested to seek professional help otherwise I would have been discharged from my duties as a shinobi. That is plain bullshit! My anger and I are doing just fine! Yeah, I may have destroyed a couple of buildings in beating Naruto up but it was for a good cause! How else was I supposed to teach him a lesson? He surely doesn't understand through words, so punches are better. Thus I shouldn't be blamed for a bunch of kids, getting scared and having nightmares of good-old-pink-haired Sakura hidden under their beds at night." She stopped from her speed talking just in time to notice the little crowd that had formed outside the restaurant. It only took a deadly glare from a certain Uchiha and the mass of people dissipated rapidly.

"But why was Tadashi bawling his eyes out?" Sasuke pressed eyeing his friend suspiciously. "And what do you mean by –doing what he asked you to- ?" Sakura grinned in response and stretched her hands upwards which lifted up her red chemise exposing her milky skin.

"At our first meeting he asked me to try to use my anger in a productive way. He told me I should try to channel it through writing and use my stories as some sort of therapy. So, every week or so, I hand him the stories and he reads them. This time I offered him the stories I wrote about The-One-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Said. And you probably know what happened next. The main point is: I don't have a therapist anymore! Hello freedom! Mwahahahaha!" Sasuke involuntarily cringed. He read most of Sakura's stories involving Itachi. It was part of growing out of his brother complex. Or so he claimed. But Sakura saw how he's eyes lit up with sadistic glee when reading. And they said that she was the one in need of counseling. Che!

"I still don't understand Sakura, what do you have against teme's older brother? I know he sometimes is an asshole, but still..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head ducking Sasuke's punch for calling his loved/hated older brother an asshole. The female rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her lips quirked cutely as she searched for a reason.

"Naruto, it's kind of a long story." She finally spoke after a moment of silence. _'Do I even have a reason to hate him so much?'_ Naruto raised an eyebrow and starred her dead on, as if telling her 'I'm not going anywhere.' Sakura sighed and scratched her head getting in a more comfortable position. _'This might take a while.'_

"Well I guess it all started when we are nothing more than small children. I was on my way to the bakery to...

_Little Sakura Haruno was happily walking down the road towards her favorite bakery. She was slowly humming a children song, her green eyes filled with barely contained excitement as she thought of her reward. The four years old girl had helped her mother around the house all day. Or at least as much as her petite body and innocent mind could. So, at the end, she was given a few coins as payment for her hard efforts. The girl took them without hesitation, holding the cold pieces of metal tightly so she won't lose them, and headed for the bakery shop fully intending on buying one of their delicious, chocolate filled donuts. _

_Mouth already watering she waited patiently for her turn, rising to her toes so she could eye the only chocolate donut left. She grinned and just as she was about to shout her order, her vision was suddenly blocked by a black shirt and dark hair tied in a low ponytail._

"_A chocolate filled donut please." A calm voice came from the black shirt owner and Sakura gasped. Panicked emerald eyes shifted their gaze from the owner of the bakery to the boy as he quickly paid for the sweet treat and made his way out of the busy street. Being too shy to confront the older boy for taking the last donut, she just starred pleadingly at the old man, her eyes shining with unshed tears. The poor man shook his head apologetically gesturing to the empty stand. _

_As if on cue, the pink haired girl broke into a heart breaking sobbing clutching the few coins that she worked so hard for, to her chest. Her crying did not stop until late at night when finally exhausted she allowed herself to drift to sleep leaving her poor parents wondering what had happened to their little baby._

_The next day, continuing their daily ritual, the Harunos, left for a walk in the park, allowing their small daughter to play with her new ball. Excited she wondered off to where the big boys played and she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. The same black shirt and dark hair tied in a loose ponytail were standing in front of her. The boy, who she was sure was the same from yesterday, was chatting with a young child, whose name she remembered being Sasuke. So, upon facing her tormentor, Sakura did the only thing a four year old could think of. She threw her ball at him which landed graciously on his head with a thud._

_Four years later, a young, blushing Sakura Haruno was clutching a small pink envelope in her hands. Tomorrow was going to be her birthday and she wanted to invite Sasuke Uchiha, her crush to her party. She approached him shyly and lightly tapped his shoulder. _

"_Ano...Sasuke-kun..." She managed to get out, her heart beating like crazy. She closed her eyes tightly and bowed her head offering the small boy the pink envelope with her invitation. _

"_Will you please come to my birthday party tomorrow?" She said in a single breath keeping her head lowered, too afraid to raise her gaze to his. The dark hair boy blinked a couple of times, and then childishly turned his head to the side, his arms crossing over his chest. _

"_No can do. Nii-san is going to be home tomorrow and I want him to help me train." Sakura could almost hear her heart breaking in half, but she still kept a forced, fake smile on her face. She straightened her back and laughed lightly, trying hard not to cry. _

"_Oh, I see. It's okay Sasuke-kun. Have fun. Bye!" She said her good-bye and turned on her heel, her green orbs burning with salty tears. _

"_Nii-san!" She heard Sasuke's happy greeting and turned her head, curious who this person was that stole her Sasuke away from her on such a special day. Jet black hair blew gently in the wind as onyx eyes gazed down at the young boy. Two deep lines grazed his cheeks, giving him a stricter appearance. He was dressed in the familiar grey clothes so specific to every Uchiha clan member. He didn't wear a headband at the time, but she had heard Sasuke on many occasions talking about how skilled Itachi, his older brother was. It sometimes became annoying. The new-comer turned around taking his younger brother's hand in his despite the boy's pouting face. As she watched them leave a memory from her early childhood flashed in front of her eyes. A flashback of a very familiar black shirt and low ponytail. Only that now they had a name: Uchiha Itachi. _

_It was a long awaited day for Sakura. The day she would finally graduate from the academy. She hoped that she would be in the same team as Sasuke, the boy she had loved for so many years. She listened to her teacher congratulating everyone in their class,__ praising them for their skills and results. When it was her turn she proudly puffed out her chest, a sly grin on her face as her sensei complimented her intelligence, and analytical skills._

"_Come to think of it Sakura, your results in the final tests remember me of another young student. His only five years older than you and he's already a skilled jounin. However, he graduated a lot faster, and was better in taijutsu and ninjutsu. His genjutsu was amazing as well and he was a very smart kid. Your overall results are probably second to his when he left academy only after one year of studying." Sakura's left eye started twitching madly and she felt her hands curl into tight fists. All she could hear was: better, faster, smarter, more skilled, you were second, which hurt her ego pretty bad. This was supposed to be her moment of glory for crying out loud! She put on her sweetest smile, which combined with her anger made her look very scary, and asked._

"_Who would this _amazing_ person be, Iruka-sensei?" She spitted out the word 'amazing' as if only pronouncing it burned her tongue. _

"_Why, Itachi Uchiha, of course!" In that very instant Sakura's right fist collided with the closest object around. Which so happened to be Naruto. Poor, poor Naruto... _

"So you see it's really long and complicated Naruto." She finished her story and scratched the back of her head. Three pairs of eyes watched her bewildered, wondering if their sweet, sweet Sakura-chan had gone soft in the head. Well, she was after all seeing a therapist. After a good five minutes of silence, the blonde was the first to break the silence.

"So that's why you punched me back then." He stated as if asking for confirmation. Sakura just nodded and apologized for it. The young man crossed his arms over his chest, his head going up and down as he uh-hum-ed for himself, coming to a conclusion known only by him.

"Sasuke, I have been done a grave harm. I have been punched in the name of your older brother. I demand vengeance!" He yelled pumping his fist in the air.

"One more bowl of ramen old man, and make it double! I need energy." He slammed his hands on the table scarring everyone in the shop. Sakura sighed and swiftly paid for her food and left the shop with Sasuke in toe. Somewhere after she finished her story, Kakashi has puffed out to Kami knows where, probably reading his porn.

"Sasuke, are you going to speak or you'll just wait until we reach my home?" She asked tiredly. Whenever Sasuke decided to walk her teammate home, or to accompany her to the hospital without her asking for it, was when he felt the need to be overprotective and scare all the cute guys around her with his Uchiha glares, or he wanted something. The later happened a lot more often.

"Is it all there is to you and Itachi?" Sakura inwardly cursed. Damn him and his cleverness!

"What do you mean?" Sasuke eyed her closely and grabbed her hand, spinning her around so that she was facing him. He narrowed his eyes and squeezed her arms in warning.

"You should know better than to lie to me Sakura. You're not the type to hold a grudge on someone for something he did more than five years ago, unless there is more to it."

"Okay, you're right." Sakura sighed and Sasuke released his grip on her, nodding. He gestured for her to continue and they returned to their slow walking.

"You are aware of the new change in the shinobi rules, right? The one where all teams must have a medic ninja, or at least someone familiar with it? Well, a couple of months ago your brother requested that I joined his squad and at first I was really happy! I forgot of my hatred for him a long time ago, and was ready to give it another shot. However, things didn't go as planned.

At the beginning he refused to take me on any mission, saying that I still had to undergo special training with his team to be able to understand their teamwork and to be able to keep up with them. I got that, believe me. But, he started telling me how my hair and choice of attire are not adequate to the life of a ninja and I am to cover my hair when I go in a mission with him. It's not my fault that I have pink standing out hair, but I'm not the only one in this situation. There are a lot of shinobi _blessed_ with uncommon hair colors that stand out just as much as mine does! But did anyone complain about them? Noooo! I tried to be an adult and compromise. I told myself that he is my superior and that I am only supposed to do that during missions so I would just grit my teeth and live through it.

Putting this aside together with his ruthless training methods, everything was fine. I'd just do my job, keep up with their insane speed, staying away from the dangerous fights, backing them up when needed and healing them. But he has absolutely no consideration for his team!

On our first mission, he had us sleep on the ground, under the bare sky! My feet were killing me from all the running, even though I kept pumping chakra to increase my speed, and I could barely keep myself straight. I would have killed to spend that night in a soft bed from a local inn, but no! We had to sleep in the woods with mosquitos buzzing around and all sort of worms crawling on our bodies. I had to literally paralyze my body to stop myself from shivering and crying. Thank goodness I always had my mask on. The mission was a success but that was not enough for the Bloody Brooding Prince. When I wanted to heal his injuries, he refused. What's the use of a doctor on your team if you don't allow her to heal you!

I wanted to quit the team, but Tsunade wouldn't allow me. So I just sucked it up and did my job. Nothing more, nothing else than what I am requested to do. And now, he sends me flowers!" Sasuke listened closely to everything she said, his eyes narrowing every now and them. He knew that his brother was perfectionist and ruthless when it came to missions and training. But to him, it seemed like he was taking the medic slowly, giving her time to adjust with the life of an ANBU. Anyone who worked with Itachi would be jealous of the treatment Sakura received. If only she could see that. Everything from the past was just a bunch of unlucky coincidences.

However there was something nagging him in the back of his mind. Why would Itachi send her flowers? His eyes narrowed as he quickly said his farewell to the medic and hurried to the Uchiha compound, his protective side kicking in. He needed to have a little talk with his older brother.


End file.
